Krepin Diatta: Everton's Intriguing Right-Back Target
Krepin Diatta is not the obvious Everton signing. He’s the intriguing one.
A 27-year-old who once thrilled as a flying forward, now reinvented as a modern right-back. A free agent after leaving Monaco. A Senegal international with Champions League and international pedigree. On paper, he ticks a lot of boxes for a club trying to stretch its budget and its imagination.
And yet, there’s a twist that will make some Evertonians pause.
From winger to weapon at right-back
Diatta first emerged as the sort of player who made coaches push their full-backs ten yards deeper. Quick, direct, always looking to get shots away, he built his reputation as a goal-minded attacker rather than a defender.
In recent seasons, that profile has shifted. He has been used primarily at right-back, where his pace and aggression have been pushed into defensive work and overlapping runs. It’s exactly the sort of profile David Moyes is hunting for this summer, with the position a clear area of concern.
Everton know the story all too well. Seamus Coleman and Nathan Patterson both missed large stretches of last season, forcing makeshift solutions and extra minutes out of players like Jake O’Brien on the flank. The right side became a patchwork job. Moyes wants a specialist.
Diatta, available on a free, offers that option. He’s versatile, he’s experienced, and he’s at an age where he should be entering his peak.
He’s not short of admirers, either. Marseille are understood to be preparing an offer, and Ipswich Town have also taken a liking to him. Everton are in a race, not a stroll.
The Sadio Mané connection Everton fans won’t ignore
Then comes the part that will raise eyebrows on the blue half of Merseyside.
Diatta has long-standing ties with former Liverpool star Sadio Mané. The pair have played together for Senegal and share a close relationship, one that Diatta himself has spoken about openly.
Back in February 2021, he laid it out clearly, as reported by Press Afrik. Asked about comparisons with Mané, he dismissed them but revealed the depth of their bond.
“I don't think I can be compared to him. But Sadio is a big brother to me. We are very close; he inspires me a lot, and I take my cue from him. He's someone I talk to on a daily basis.
“I think he's an example for all young Senegalese players, obviously. He is a role model for all young Senegalese players.”
For Everton supporters, who demand that new signings understand the club’s identity and the meaning of the rivalry, that sort of history with a Liverpool icon will not go unnoticed. If he was talking to Mané daily during those years, he will know Anfield, he will know Liverpool’s culture, and it is hard to imagine he wasn’t cheering his compatriot on when they faced Everton.
It’s already out there in the public domain. The obvious question follows: if that’s what we know, what else is out there in terms of his emotional ties and allegiances?
Everton’s recent business has underlined how important that sense of belonging is. Hayden Hackney’s first words as a Toffee showed he had done his homework on the club’s history and expectations. Tyrique George has also made a point of leaning into the culture after returning to Hill Dickinson. The bar has been set: you don’t just sign for Everton, you buy into Everton.
Diatta, if he arrives, would walk straight into that scrutiny.
Fitness, risk and reward
On the pitch, the concerns are more familiar and more manageable.
Availability has become a defining trait at Goodison Park, especially in defence. Everton’s back line has been repeatedly reshuffled by injuries, and supporters know the cost of carrying players who spend too much time in the treatment room.
Diatta’s recent record is not alarming, but it does come with a red flag on the file. Last season, he missed four matches with a muscle issue between February and March. Before that, the major setback came in 2021, when an ACL injury kept him out for more than 200 days.
For a player whose game relies heavily on speed and sharp changes of direction, that kind of injury history always prompts a closer look. Clubs will want to be sure that the explosiveness is still there and that the risk of recurrence is manageable.
Yet compared with some of the medical gambles Premier League clubs regularly take, Diatta’s profile is not extreme. One long-term injury in 2021, one short muscle problem last season. For a free agent in his prime years, it is the sort of risk sporting directors live with every window.
The kind of controversy Moyes might accept
So Everton stand at an interesting crossroads with this one.
On one side: a free transfer, a versatile right-back, international experience, and the kind of athletic profile Moyes has traditionally moulded into something powerful. A player who could immediately ease the burden on an injury-hit position.
On the other: a slightly controversial backstory for a fanbase that guards its identity fiercely, and a medical history that demands due diligence.
Diatta would not arrive as a blank slate. He would come with his admiration for Sadio Mané already documented, his likely support for Liverpool during those derby days already assumed. Some Evertonians will bristle at that. Others will shrug and ask a simpler question: can he improve the team?
Moyes, ultimately, may answer in football terms only. If he believes Diatta’s qualities outweigh the noise around his past loyalties, Everton could move for a player who fits both their needs and their budget.
If that happens, the real test will not be who he used to cheer for, but how quickly he convinces the Gwladys Street to cheer for him.
